The former Alabama defensive lineman was joking when he said that Reuben Foster switched his commitment from Alabama to Auburn "because Reuben was paid more than Alabama was willing to pay him."

Says who? John Copeland.

"I wasn't serious at all," he said Monday. "If I was serious about something, I would stand behind it. But this was a joke."

Funny thing is, Copeland's comments on Friday's edition of "Crimson Cover," the weekly TV show on WVUA in Tuscaloosa he co-hosts with Chase Goodbread of the Tuscaloosa News and Mike Parker of Touchdown Alabama magazine, appeared to indict Auburn, Alabama and Foster.

Copeland suggested the Tigers had outbid the Tide for the services of the No. 1 inside linebacker and No. 2 overall prospect in the class of 2013. Those would appear to be fightin' words to fans on both sides of the aisle, but Copeland said Monday he couldn't make that kind of observation with any kind of authority.

"I don't know anything about Reuben Foster," he said. "I don't know anything about Auburn, for that matter. I don't care about recruits because they haven't done anything yet."

There's the rub. A lot of people in this state do care about recruits. They care more when one switches from the Tide to the Tigers, or vice versa. See T.J. Yeldon, Brent Calloway. Cyrus Kouandjio, etc. They often care enough to accuse the other side of cheating after these high-profile flips, so when a former player joins that chorus, it carries more weight than an anonymous voice on a message board.

Just don't expect Copeland to say he's sorry.

"I'm not going to apologize," he said. "I don't have anything to apologize for."

What exactly did he say? The day after Foster's switch, "Crimson Cover" naturally discussed the big news. Copeland offered these thoughts on Foster's recruiting.

"It's over," he said. "Here's why. Coach Saban, Nick Saban, has kinda proven himself to be a man of high character, a man of integrity. He has certain lines he won't cross, willingly. There may be some things that happen that he really ... it's hard to say he doesn't have a handle on, but there's gonna be some things that happen.

"In Auburn, it's totally different. At Auburn, the head coach is not running that program. There are about four or five different guys in place that are running that program as far as ..."

At that point, Goodbread interrupted to ask, "What's that got to do with Reuben Foster?"

Copeland's response: "Because Reuben was paid more than Alabama was willing to pay him. We got boosters out there that weren't willing to pay Reuben Foster what some boosters were willing to pay at Auburn."

Goodbread suggested that Alabama won't stop recruiting a five-star linebacker such as Foster.

Copeland's response: "It don't matter whether they give up or not, Chase. What are you talking about? The money's in the briefcase. How much are you willing to give me?"

If you heard the audio, it didn't sound like Copeland was kidding. If you saw the video, it didn't look like he was joking. If you noticed him unfairly putting words in Foster's mouth that Foster hasn't said, you had to cringe.

Not Copeland. Call him irresponsible, but he said the entire tone of "Crimson Cover" is tongue-in-cheek. He called it "an opinionated, comical type of show," and said he was "shocked and dumbfounded that people are talking about this."

I'm shocked that Copeland is dumbfounded. He wasn't appearing on "Saturday Night Live." He doesn't have the reputation of court jester Charles Barkley.

Barkley recently quipped that he told Nike he would pay whatever it took to get the teen-aged Dirk Nowitzki to Auburn and that "everyone wants to give us a hard time about giving Cam Newton $200,000. That's called a damn good investment."

Is that funny? Irresponsible? Both? Bet the Auburn compliance department didn't get a chuckle out of it.

"I joked about Cam Newton in the exact same manner (as Foster)," Copeland said. "Nothing was said about it."

Should anything be said about alleged recruiting irregularities in this heated state without a straight face and serious proof?

"I understand the rivalry," Copeland said. "As a player and now as a fan, I'm not going to walk around on eggshells. It's a rivalry. That's what it is. I'm supposed to make jokes about Auburn. Auburn people are supposed to make jokes about us."

Copeland then trotted out what sounded like a joke but he swears is the truth.

"My mother-in-law is an Auburn grad," he said. "I give her hell like anyone else."

Ribbing an in-law isn't exactly the equivalent of suggesting your school lost a bidding war to your rival, but Copeland said anyone suggesting he crossed the line is missing the point.

After all, if he had proof to share that someone had cheated, "I wouldn't do it on a TV show."